The notion of Rob Gronkowski being in play for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player aware has to be taken seriously now.

The big tight end is on a big roll with nine catches in each of the Patriots’ past two games, including a nine-reception, 105-yard performance Sunday night in the 43-21 destruction of Peyton Manning and the Broncos.

Gronkowski is on pace for a monstrous individual year — 86 catches for 1,179 yards and 14 touchdowns — but it’s his noticeable effect on the Patriots as a whole that is making him a legitimate MVP candidate.

Doctors say Gronkowski’s return to full strength after devastating knee and arm injuries last season wasn’t complete until early October, which coincides neatly with the Patriots’ sudden resurgence from a 2-2 start.

Gronkowski couldn’t break 44 receiving yards in a game in September, but he has three 100-plus yard performances and a 94-yard effort in New England’s five-game winning streak. And it appears to be no coincidence the Patriots are averaging a staggering 40 points a game during that same stretch.

As long as Gronkowski can stay healthy (a big question mark, of course), the Patriots have to be considered the AFC’s Super Bowl favorite.

“He’s just got all the tools, and he’s got a great attitude,” Tom Brady said Sunday after Gronkowski’s freak-of-nature one-handed catch to set up a TD provided one of the highlights in the Denver rout. “I love playing with him. Hopefully he goes down as one of the best tight ends to ever play.”

Gronkowski certainly is one of the best tight ends — if not the best — in the league at the moment. It wouldn’t be outrageous to see him add an NFL MVP trophy to that resume, too.